Hong Chengchou said: "There is a Yellow River between Qin and Jin, and the thieves crossed the river on ice, but they did not encounter obstacles, which shows that Shanxi is very empty and has no troops to defend. After the thieves crossed the river, the first step was to capture Pingyang, Pingyang collapsed, Taiyuan will be difficult to hold, after breaking Taiyuan, the hearts of the people in Shanxi Province will collapse, and the thieves can drive eastward for a long time, so the minister estimates that he can go to Beijing in about mid-March. ”

Fan Wencheng asked: "Taiyuan has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times, how can thieves easily break through?"

Hong Chengchou: "The whole province of Shanxi is empty, and although Taiyuan is the provincial capital, there is no heavy defense. Moreover, the governor Cai Maode is a literati, he has never known how to use soldiers, and he has no power to restrain chickens. The minister dared to assert that Taiyuan would not be able to be defended, and if Cai Maode wanted to be a loyal minister, he could only commit suicide after the city was broken, and there was no other good way. ”

Dolgon asked again: "You said that Li Zicheng only had ...... people to Beijing?"

"100,000, 200,000 at most. ”

Prince Zheng interjected: "Lao Hong, you know the things in the south best. If you misestimate the number of troops that the thieves will have to go to Beijing, and if the estimate is less, we will suffer on the battlefield. ”

"The minister estimated that if the thieves crossed the river with 300,000 men, the actual number of soldiers who could fight would not exceed 250,000. After entering the Jin Dynasty, troops must be stationed in all important places to suppress the chaos. Pingyang is an important town in Jinzhong, and it is located in the north and south of the hub, so it is necessary to leave troops to garrison. The Shangdang area is backed by the Taihang Mountain, the east is connected to Hanoi, and it is condescending in the whole Jin, and it has been a place for soldiers to fight for since ancient times. ”

"Taiyuan is the provincial capital of the Three Jin Dynasty, and it is the fief of the Jin King of the Ming Dynasty, Taiyuan and the surrounding counties, the Ming Dynasty township eunuchs, everywhere. It is not difficult for the thieves to capture Taiyuan, but it is difficult to govern, so it is necessary to leave the general and heavy troops to garrison. From Taiyuan to Beijing, according to the usual road to the army, you should go east out of Guguan, go north along Zhending Avenue, and enter Jifu. There are 1,200 miles from Taiyuan to Beijing, and there are some important places where troops must be left to garrison. According to the minister's rough estimate, the number of troops under the arrival of Li Thief in Beijing was only a hundred thousand, or even less than 100,000. ”

However, it is not clear how Li Thief marched to Beijing after breaking through Taiyuan. Only after the thieves have broken through Taiyuan can we know the route of the thieves to invade Beijing, and then it is better to judge how many thieves will reach the city of Beijing. ”

Prince Zheng asked: "Coming from Taiyuan to invade Beijing, leaving the solid pass, breaking the truth and going north, the road is the closest and smoothest." If the thieves don't take this road, can they go elsewhere?"

Hong Chengchou said: "The Ming Dynasty had generals in Datong, Ningwu, Xuanfu and other places, and there were heavy troops, all of which were so-called nine-sided important towns. If these places are left alone, if the military generals in these places lead the border troops to smash the void of Taiyuan, not only will the whole Jin Dynasty be in chaos, but also Li Zicheng will cut off the road to Guanzhong and suffer the enemy in Beijing. From this point of view, after Li Thief broke through Taiyuan, he took a short rest, and he did not necessarily immediately go east to Guguan, attack Zhending, and go straight to Beijing. ”

"Maybe the rebels will first attack from the north of Taiyuan, and a group of men and horses will be led by him personally, break Xinzhou, go out of Yanmen, and capture Datong, and another general will lead a partial division from Xinzhou to Ningwu. Datong and Ning Wuru were captured, that is, the worries of Taiyuan and Sanjin were cleared. According to Chen, if there were still 200,000 people after Li Thief broke Taiyuan, he would lead 100,000 people east out of Guguan and invade Beijing through Zhending. If he personally led a large army from Taiyuan to the north of Xinzhou, captured Datong and Ningwu, and did not dare to divide his troops from Taiyuan, it proved that he did not have many men and horses. ”

"Reasonable! Reasonable!" Dolgon praised Hong Chengchou in his heart for being extraordinary, and then asked: "After Li Thief broke Datong and Ningwu, did he still return to Taiyuan, and go out of Guguan to Zhending Bei?"

"No, it's a long detour and it takes time. ”

"How did the Li thief invade Beijing from Datong? Isn't it a long way to get out of the Saiwai?"

"In fact, it is not much, from Taiyuan to the north, go to Xinzhou, Daizhou, out of Yanmen Pass, to Datong, about 700 miles of road. From Datong to Juyong Pass to Beijing, there is about 900 miles of road, from Datong through Xuanfu, straight to Juyong Pass, there is no danger, there is no heavy army to block, you can use the cavalry to drive in. ”

Zilharang said: "But Badaling and Juyong Pass are known as natural dangers, and the Ming army cannot afford not to defend them. ”

"If you use common sense, what the prince said is extremely true, but at present, the Ming Dynasty is dying, and the situation is changing. Taiyuan is like a thief, the whole country will be shaken, the people's hearts are scattered, there is danger and can not be defended, after the thieves capture Datong and Xuanfu, Juyong Pass may collapse when the wind blows, and it will break itself. Even though there are soldiers who will be loyal to the Ming Dynasty and defend the gates, since ancient times, the ground is dead and the people are alive. Those who make good use of the army can take advantage of the time to make trouble, avoid the real and make the false, attack what they are not prepared for, and tend to defend what they do not defend, and attacking Beijing is not only one way to conquer Juyongguan. ”

"In the autumn of the fourteenth year of Ming orthodoxy, Ming Yingzong was defeated at Tumu Fort and was captured by Yexian. In October, I also took advantage of the emptiness of Beijing, when the government and the opposition were frightened, I drove to the outside of Beijing, and avoided Juyong Pass, but went down to Taihang Mountain, out of Bauhinia Pass, and came east along Yizhou Avenue, such as entering the realm of no one. This is an old incident 200 years ago, which shows that Juyongguan is not to be trusted. ”

"Looking at the past 15 years, my Qing troops have gone south several times, threatening Beijing, entering southern Hebei, sweeping Shandong, breaking Jinan and Dezhou, and returning with great victories, all avoiding Shanhaiguan. Therefore, in the humble opinion of the ministers, if the rebels go to the east, in this extraordinary period, the Ming Dynasty will disintegrate, and the soldiers will have no fighting spirit, and the guards of Juyong Pass will open the door to welcome the surrender, and the thieves can also take a detour. Maybe the thieves are still hundreds of miles away, and the messenger who persuaded them to surrender has already entered the Juyong Pass. ”

Zierharang praised and said: "Lao Hong, you said well, no wonder the first emperor attached great importance to you, saying that you were the best guide for my Qing soldiers when they entered the Central Plains." ”

Fan Wencheng also admired Hong Chengchou's words about military affairs, and then said: "In the near future, my Qing troops will enter the Central Plains, occupy Beijing, and sweep away the thieves. ”

Listening to the praise of Prince Zheng and Fan Wencheng, Hong Chengchou was not happy at all, but had a bitter taste welling up in his heart. He knew that both the former Emperor Taiji and the current Dolgon valued him very much, but in the past two years he has not forgotten his homeland or his homeland. He didn't reveal this feeling to anyone, he could only bury it deep in his heart.

Recently, he knew that Li Zicheng had already established a name in Xi'an and was marching to Beijing, and he was secretly worried in his heart. He knew very well that since Yang Sichang was squeezed out of the center, the supervisor was ineffective, and committed suicide in Shashi, there was no one with a strategy among the ministers around Chongzhen. Later, Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, was still a little smart and diligent in managing things, but unfortunately he was killed by Chongzhen, and there was no really useful person around Chongzhen.

Even if there are two or three old ministers, they are also suffering from door disputes, and the lord is suspicious, and he sees that the country is in danger, but he can't do anything. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart.

"Woohoo sky!

Recently, Hong Chengchou not only knew that Li Zicheng had led a large army to cross the river from near Hancheng into Jin, pointed to Taiyuan, and claimed that he would march east against Youyan and break through Beijing, but also knew that there were also discussions in the Qing court, and some people advocated that before the thieves arrived in Youyan, the Eight Banners should quickly move south, occupy Beijing and its surrounding important places first, and be ready to meet the thieves in Shaanxi. It seems that the Qing Dynasty is stepping up its preparations, and has been requisitioning men and horses, stepping up drills, and at the same time requisitioning grain and grass from all over the country to transport it near Shengjing.

In recent years, the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty have been able to use firearms, and in addition to seizing many firearms from the Ming army, they have also learned to make their own firearms, and even red-coated cannons. During the day, Hong Chengchou often heard the sound of cannons near Shengjing, and sometimes the rumbling cannons were deafening, of course, it was a red-coated cannon. He knew in his heart that this was a preparation for an attack.

Every day at dawn, when the rooster crows twice, he hears the sound of horns, conch crows, roosters, and the hooves of horses in Shengjing City. He understood that this was the beginning of the training of the three banners stationed in Shengjing City, and also concluded that Dolgon must have a major decision to lead his troops south.

So he quickly got up in his clothes, got dressed under the care of Bai Ruyu, a ** and servant, put on a mink fur hat, climbed on leather boots, and came to the small courtyard paved with severe frost. There was a waning moon in the sky, and the southeast showed a faint morning light, and he began to dance the sword.

It stands to reason that he was born in the imperial examination, at the age of twenty-three, he entered the official career, and was gradually promoted, until he was the secretary of the military department, and he was actually the governor of Jiliao, and he was a second-class member of the Ming Dynasty, but he had the ambition of helping the world since he was a teenager, so in addition to reading and learning to write eight strands, he also practiced riding and archery in his spare time, and learned swordsmanship. Often when watching the exercises on the school ground, he wears a second-grade official uniform, a jade belt around his waist, and a sword hanging obliquely, which makes him even more handsome and majestic.

In February of the previous year, when he broke through the west gate of Songshan Fort in a panic, the thin horse he was riding had no strength, and he fell down a steep slope, and even people were planted, and the Qing soldiers who were ambushed nearby shouted out. Hong Chengchou wanted to draw his sword and kill himself, but he was caught off guard and became a prisoner, and the sword was also snatched by the Qing soldiers. Long after his surrender in Shengjing, Huang Taiji ordered the sword to be found and returned to him.

After dancing the sword in the courtyard, the sky was already bright, and I was a little sweaty. He washed his face and combed his hair under the service of the servants and Bai Ruyu, and then dined, and at breakfast he was still thinking about the current critical situation in Beijing, secretly hating the defeat of Songshan two years ago, and now he can only stand by and watch the death of the Ming Dynasty. He habitually could not blame Emperor Chongzhen for the defeat of the Songshan army, and he hated Zhang Ruoqi, the imperial historian of the prison army, for not understanding military affairs, and blindly urging the war, resulting in a crushing defeat.

At this moment, Zilharang, Hong Chengchou, and Fan Wencheng discussed the actual situation of Li Zicheng's troops in front of Dolgon, and this issue was very important for determining the next combat strategy of the Qing army. Hong Chengchou didn't intervene again, what he was thinking about was the critical situation in Beijing and the panic situation in the government and the opposition, he thought that Beijing's troops were very empty, and there was no food and salary, and the court was full of useless bureaucrats, and there was no courageous minister who knew the army, and he could not really share the emperor's worries when he was in a hurry.

However, his heart must not be revealed in front of others, and he is afraid that the wise Dorgon will blame him for not forgetting his old king and being unfaithful to the Qing Dynasty. He thought of the old friends of the government and the opposition in the Southern Dynasty, whether they knew or not, no one in the past two years had not scolded him for being a shameless traitor who betrayed the court, betrayed his ancestors, and betrayed his father, and no one would have thought that he would still haunt Shenjing every night to this day, and his heart was tied to Wei Que.

Dolgon suddenly shouted, "Master Hong!"

Hong Chengchou was suddenly startled, and he didn't have a chance to wipe away his tears, so he had to raise his head and say in his heart: "Oh no!"

Seeing the melancholy look on his face and the seemingly moist eyes, Dorgon felt strange, and immediately asked, "What do you think that the thieves are about to storm Beijing?"

Hong Chengchou quickly replied: "Since ancient times, the rise and fall of countries has been not only related to personnel, but also to history. Since Chen Songshan was captured and came to Shengjing, he was fortunate to be treated by the first emperor with special grace, so that the criminal ministers were reformed by stubborn stones, surrendered to the Holy Dynasty, and the rise and fall of the Ming and Qing dynasties were well understood. Today, when we see the thieves pouring into the east, Beijing will surely fall, although there is the sorrow of the death of the old country, it is only human nature. The minister knew very well in his heart that the thieves would never be able to seize the world, but the angels and thieves would just clear the way for me to pacify the Central Plains. ”

Dolgon nodded with a smile and said softly: "Just now you suddenly raised your head, I saw you with a sad face and tears in your eyes, and I thought you were thinking about the old king, so I asked you what you thought about the thieves going to attack Beijing." Since you understand that my Qing Dynasty should be lucky, the Southern Dynasty has run out of calendars, and it will surely perish, so you will live up to the kindness of the previous emperor to you. My Eight Banners will go south in a few days to exterminate the thieves and survey the Central Plains, and it is the time for you to make contributions. ”

"The ministers should do their best to follow the work of dogs and horses. ”

"If the thieves break through Beijing, the Ming Dynasty falls, Chongzhen and the queen can't escape, and they die in Sheji, you will inevitably be sad for a while, and it is also human nature. As long as you are willing to help the Qing Dynasty pacify the Central Plains, you will be a hero of the Qing Dynasty. ”

Hong Chengchou heard that although Dolgon's words were lenient, he was actually not at ease with him. Although he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he read more and came out more deeply, knowing that Nurhachi and Huang Taiji were both immortal founding heroes, and Huang Taiji had a particularly broad vision, but unfortunately died too early and could not complete the ambition in his chest. Dolgon is also a rare founding hero of Manchuria, his wisdom and wisdom are greater than Huang Taiji, but the capacity is not enough, and he is feared by everyone, and can be regarded as a generation of heroes.

The other kings were only warriors, and they could make achievements under the command of Dolgon, and none of them were outstanding. As for Prince Zheng Jierharang, although he has to occupy a high position as an auxiliary government by chance, he is a mediocre person in the eyes of Hong Chengchou. Hong Chengchou's evaluation of the Manchurian royal kings is just his own Piri Yangqiu, and he never reveals a word. Because he knew Dolgon's character deeply, he was afraid that Dolgon would sooner or later suspect that he still had feelings for Emperor Chongzhen, who was about to die, when he saw his sad face and tears, so he said to Dolgon.

"At present, the thieves have entered the Jin realm, and they will go to the city of Beijing in about three months, and it is not difficult to break through Beijing. More than 30 people, including the minister's mother, his wife, concubines, and servants, all lived in Beijing. After the ministers surrendered to the Holy Dynasty the year before last, Chongzhen was uncharacteristic and never killed the minister's family. Just now, because Beijing was difficult to defend, I couldn't help but feel sad when I thought that Chen's mother was over 70 years old, and it was difficult to protect her life and death because of this fate. ”

Dolgon comforted: "I am now wondering if I can quickly lead the elite soldiers of the Manchurian, Mongolian, and Han Eight Banners into the Great Wall, first break through Beijing, and then wait for work to defeat the thieves in the suburbs of Beijing." Recently, many of the courtiers have commented on this, and the Fan Scholar has also suggested this, if this is the case, your mother and her family will be safe. When you march to Beijing, of course, you and Fan are by my side, and once Beijing is broken, a special team of cavalry will be sent to protect your house, and there will be no chaotic soldiers to harass you, so why worry. ”